quarantine
Americannoun
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a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.
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a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.
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a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease.
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the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.
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a place or station at which such measures are carried out, as a special port or dock where ships are detained.
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the detention or isolation enforced.
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the place, especially a hospital, where people are detained.
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a period of 40 days.
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social, political, or economic isolation imposed as a punishment, as in ostracizing an individual or enforcing sanctions against a foreign state.
verb (used with object)
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to put in or subject to quarantine.
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to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.
noun
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a period of isolation or detention, esp of persons or animals arriving from abroad, to prevent the spread of disease, usually consisting of the maximum known incubation period of the suspected disease
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the place or area where such detention is enforced
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any period or state of enforced isolation
verb
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to isolate in or as if in quarantine
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to withhold (a portion of a welfare payment) from a person or group of people
Discover More
The term is sometimes used politically to designate the political and economic isolation of a nation in retribution for unacceptable policies: “When Iraq invaded Kuwait, it was placed in quarantine by the nations of the world.”
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quarantinesimple
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quarantinessimple
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have quarantinedperfect
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has quarantinedperfect
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are quarantiningprogressive
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am quarantiningprogressive
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is quarantiningprogressive
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have been quarantiningperfect progressive
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has been quarantiningperfect progressive
Past
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quarantinedsimple
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had quarantinedperfect
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was quarantiningprogressive
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were quarantiningprogressive
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had been quarantiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quarantine
First recorded in 1600–10; from Italian quarantina, variant of quarantena, originally Upper Italian (Venetian): “period of forty days, group of forty,” derivative of quaranta “forty,” ultimately from Latin quadrāgintā
Explanation
If you contract something highly infectious, such as pinkeye, please quarantine yourself so that you don’t infect others with it. This means you’ll have to stay in isolation and avoid contact with other people. Starting in the 16th century, a quarantine lasted specifically 40 days. The word is in fact derived from the Latin quadraginta, which means "forty." Originally, this referred to the amount of time a widow could remain in her deceased husband’s house, then referred to the period of time a ship had to wait off a country’s port if its passengers were disease-stricken. Now, it can mean a period of isolation of any length, and can be used as both a verb and a noun.
Vocabulary lists containing quarantine
Fever 1793
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John F. Kennedy's Address to the American People on the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
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40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The World Health Organization had recommended people with high-risk exposure undergo quarantine at home or in a facility for 42 days “as a precautionary measure” because of the long incubation period of the virus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
She said she believed Kennedy’s order was retaliation for speaking out against the quarantine measures.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department urged unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to measles to quarantine to help prevent the virus from spreading rapidly through the population.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
Washington has pledged $13.5 million to Kenya's Ebola preparedness efforts and Kenyan health minister Aden Duale told parliament he "will not stop" the quarantine centre, despite a halt order from the High Court.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
It was reverse quarantine, an ancient practice in Africa, where a village bars itself from strangers during a time of disease, and drives away outsiders who appear.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
